God’s Power Is Strongest When I Am Weak 

“When I am weak, then I am strong.”
How contradictory can you get! 

Yet that’s what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:10. God’s ways are not ours, and since He is the Truth and gave us His Word, the Bible, to guide us, there must be validity behind Paul’s statement.

Weakness = A Chance to Overcome
If I know and admit I am weak, then I have taken the first step to become strong. “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) God’s power is immediately available to us when we know we cannot do something on our own. When your child is struggling with something and they ask for help, you are there. God is no different – except that He is able to bring perfect help exactly where, when, and how we need it. When we are empty in ourselves, God’s power is most apparent. 

Fight Discouragement with Encouragement
Oftentimes, discouragement can lead to failure. In our story, A Brave Victory, Arie has become so discouraged over her repeated inability to master a flyaway dismount on bars that she now believes she herself is a complete failure as a person. Her self-talk reinforces this as she listens to the imbedded recording which constantly repeats, “You stink at bars!” She not only fears failure each time she tries now, but she believes she IS a failure. 

Children are not always able to articulate how they feel or even why. If they begin to exhibit signs of fear which may include nervousness, clinginess, withdrawal, sleep problems, etc., start with encouragement. Whether their fear is realistic or imagined, never tell them it’s silly, ridicule them, or brush it off as insignificant. To them, it’s very real and they need a listening ear and compassionate encouragement.

A Cozy Conversation
Get comfy with your child and give them your full attention. Read a book, tell a story, play a quiet conversational game…and when you sense the time is right, ask them to tell you about their fear. As they admit to being afraid, they are taking the first step to overcoming that fear. You may be able to help them understand why they feel the way they do by sharing your own stories of childhood fears. You may discover the source is a program, video game, or book that over-ignited their imagination.  A hidden, scary experience or embarrassing, humiliating moment may surface…who knows. The point is to get them to start talking and show genuine concern no matter how absurd it may seem. You may also unveil a very real and dangerous situation which requires counseling. Become a good observer and attentive listener! Many fears adults still wrestle with could have been avoided by a compassionate  conversation with a loved one. 

God’s Word: Power Over Fear!
Once you acknowledge their feelings as real and identify the fear, you can help them move past it. During this process, never underestimate the power of God’s word to renew your child’s mind. A strong mind is essential to overcoming fears and is attained through immersing it with truth. Memorizing scripture embeds eternal truth into our minds, and with that truth comes immense power. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”  (2 Corinthians 10:4)

Fear has imprisoned countless numbers of children and adults, preventing them from ever reaching higher goals or living a life of purpose and peace. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power,” and to take up “the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God” to do battle against harmful worldly influences – including our internal battles with ourselves. Renewing our minds with truth sets us free from being enslaved to all kinds of emotions – including fear.

You cannot always be there for your child. But God can! Help him or her to understand this powerful truth by memorizing Joshua 1:9 together:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

Our goal at Emeth is to build inner strength through our character training program to enable every student to be confident over-comers through all of life’s difficulties. View all of our stories and curriculum at THIS LINK. Our current story, “A Brave Victory” is HERE.